Chasing after Gray had not been anticipated, given the situation in the tower. Yet, it had still happened and now that they were returning, Lyon still couldn't fathom what made Gray so insistent on preventing Zeref's latest suicide attempt. The black wizard had many valid points on why Gray should've just let it happen, after all. If Zeref were dead, iced shell would never be needed. Plus, any demons Zeref had made would perish. Perhaps it would be a bit saddening that those demons included the ones in Galuna Island, but wasn't that sacrifice worth it? So much suffering would be avoided and completely eradicated if Zeref were truly gone.

Still, something had shifted between Gray and Zeref. They were still walking in the tower, but Gray was silent, ignoring the rest of them with a frown. Zeref kept his distance, far more adamantly than ever before. It seemed like Gray knew exactly why, but the ice wizard wasn't sharing any details. Either way, it was as much of a mystery as Gray's rather uncharacteristic determination to stop Zeref from dying. Then again, Gray had never really been able to view Zeref as an enemy, despite what the man had done, so perhaps it was merely their difference in perspective that made it so confusing.

They came back to the room Jellal was trapped in, seeing the wizard blinking at them in surprise. "Back so soon? I thought you'd be awaiting Etherion's strike by now." He smiled, before nodding across the room. "After all, that's what we've been doing while you were gone."

Lyon blinked, seeing someone else trapped near the entrance from the lower floors. There, a familiar blue-haired wizard sat, her gaze flickering towards Lyon almost immediately. "Lyon, you've returned! Juvia was worried that you'd be harmed. She couldn't simply sit around and wait to see her beloved again, so Juvia decided to help Lyon however she could."

Her lover wasn't even around? Juvia was so devoted to her love. It only made Lyon that much more determined to be the one she devoted her heart to…yet breaking that devotion just might prove to be impossible. He forced himself to smile, nodding at her. "It is much appreciated. If I had realized you were coming, I may have given my companions some advanced notice. That may have prevented you from being trapped like this."

Shaking his head, Zeref walked forward. "Etherion will activate the R-System." The water wizard blinked, staring at him. "The answer to escaping. Repeat that and the enchantment should fade."

"Wait…are you saying that's all it took to break free from the first cage?" Lucy stared at him. "Why the hell were you so determined to find an answer for something as stupid as that?"

"Because I hate unsolved mysteries." Zeref frowned. "And I had never quite come up with a theory that would make this spell feasible to practice in the past."

"Oh? So, you've studied the Tower of Heaven as well. No wonder you had such an interest in its power." Jellal smiled at him. Yet, that was when the man gasped, touching his head. "What…what is going on? Something is interfering with Etherion." His gaze was distant, before his eyes widened. "That's not possible. What is a wizard like him doing in Era?"

"Oh, God Serena follows my orders, when I wish for him to do so at least." Zeref smiled faintly, staring at the man. "There's a bit of an odd agreement between the two of us for that purpose. He's waiting for the right time to gain what I've offered him at the moment."

"I won't let you stop me. Etherion will strike and I will bring Zeref back to life."

"It would be quite impossible, you know." Zeref paused. "The one you seek to resurrect is already alive, so this entire venture is quite pointless, after all."

"The black wizard is alive?" Juvia stared at them, narrowing her eyes. "Juvia has heard nothing of this. It is not possible for such an ancient wizard to still live."

Lyon was certain they had used Zeref's name in front of her before. Then again, perhaps she had not quite heard or realized they were referring to someone nearby. "Are you not trying to keep things hidden anymore?" Gray asked, focusing on Zeref.

"I think the time for me to remain inactive has passed. If I truly am going up against the gods…this will mark a new era and history will likely make note of my activities once more, just as it always does." Zeref looked at Juvia, smiling at her. "So, to answer your question, it is quite possible for Zeref to be alive. I find it odd that so many claim I am deceased when I stand before them, clearly alive and well."

No. Why'd he have to tell Juvia who he was? She'd know he was working with the black wizard and refuse to speak to Lyon again. Staring at her, Lyon almost felt his heart break. They'd only managed to share a few sweet moments in the past. She'd helped him in the library and she'd shown him her strength in their spar…Lyon wanted more. He wanted to see her smile more, to meet this beloved of hers and prove to him that Juvia deserved better than anyone could give her, even him.

"Juvia has heard of your past actions." The water wizard paused, narrowing her eyes. "She will not stand for it, if you mean to harm her beloved. Threaten him and Juvia shall—"

Zeref interrupted her with a laugh, shaking his head. "Oh, I assure you, I care little for what does or does not harm the object of your obsession."

It was a strange twist on a phrase, one that had Juvia narrowing her eyes. "Obsession? How dare you insult Juvia like that?" Lyon glared at Zeref as the girl continued speaking. "Her love is pure and devoted. Insisting that an emotion like that is an obsession…you know nothing of love and you never will."

"Perhaps you are correct." Zeref looked bored with the topic already, turning away. "Regardless, we are wasting time. Let's go." He began moving, passing by the water wizard calmly. Juvia stared at him, her eyes remaining narrowed and focused.

"Juvia's love will not be tainted by your words." She spoke calmly, making Zeref stop. "Juvia knows she is not normal. She does not speak properly and cannot change old habits. People are afraid of Juvia and call Juvia mean names. Juvia has only ever had the support of herself, regardless of her magic or where she goes." She stared at Zeref's back, standing tall and staying calm. "Perhaps this means Juvia does not show love as most do. Perhaps it means you will call it obsession. Juvia will only do her best to follow her heart and she will not let others tell her it is wrong to do so."

Even Gray rolled his eyes, crossing his arms over his chest. "Yeah, well, if you want to get someone's attention, you might want to consider how your actions look to others." Juvia looked ready to snap at him too, but Gray turned away. "If people see you acting like that, you'll frighten them away. At least try talking to the guy you love for a change, rather than your creepy sneaking around."

"Juvia shall take your words under consideration." Her gaze flickered around them, narrowing her eyes at Lucy and Erza for a moment. "For now, she will request to follow you on your journey. Juvia does not wish to risk leaving her love rivals unobserved."

"Love rivals?" Lucy frowned, before pointing to herself. "Wait, you mean me?"

"Of course. You are another female and clearly hold attractive properties, much like your companion by your side." Juvia nodded towards Erza, who frowned, but did not comment. "Juvia will ensure you do not steal away her beloved, by remaining nearby at all times."

Most people would be frightened away by her possessive streak. Lyon, however, found himself wishing she would be scaring others away from him. It seemed like it would be tedious to have to deal with woman wanting to flirt with him, when his heart belonged to another. Wait…did that mean he was bothering Juvia by doing the same? Was that why she ignored him so much since they ran into each other now? She was likely just being kind when he spoke to her, allowing the conversation for no other purpose than to avoid hurting his feelings.

Well, then maybe Lyon would have to try and back off. He'd start by being friendly. No matter how much he despised the thought of being nothing more than friends with this wonderful woman, he would tolerate it as the first stage in his plans to win over her heart. During that process, he'd speak with Gray and discover who his rival was. Perhaps he'd borrow Juvia's mindset and follow them, to try and push them apart with further distance than they suffered from now.

Lucy began to continuously object to being a love rival for Juvia, insisting she had no idea who she was even competing for. Even if she did know, she claimed to not be interested in anyone at all, though the girl's cheeks were fiery as she argued against this. Perhaps she did have some affection towards someone, though who was a mystery that Lyon didn't even care to solve. He was too busy contemplating his romantic dilemma to care about another, after all.

When they exited the tower, Lyon moved towards the ship automatically, but paused when they reached the shore. There, next to their ship, seemed to be another smaller boat, tied up against the rocks and looking like it was dangerously close to being dragged out to sea. "Wait." Lyon pointed towards it. "It appears as if someone else is here." Then again, maybe it was how Juvia got here? It just seemed like as a water wizard, she wouldn't require something as mundane as a boat to travel across the water.

Zeref frowned at it before Juvia spoke up. "Juvia saw this boat arrive as she went to enter the tower." She paused, looking towards the place. "A woman was on it, one Juvia did not recognize. She seemed determined to enter this place, muttering something about a key."

"A key to what?" Lyon frowned, glancing at the tower. "We saw no key inside. Though, I suppose we did not thoroughly search the tower."

"There would be no key." Zeref frowned, glancing at the building as well. "The spell does not require one."

"Juvia is sorry, but she did not hear anything further." Her gaze flickered down towards her feet. "Juvia was too focused on making sure everyone stayed safe. She did not want Lyon to be harmed, either directly or through injury to his friends."

Well, he had that much care from her at least. Lyon would not argue against it. "Thank you, Juvia." Lyon spoke before anyone could berate her for her actions. "I understand your reasoning and appreciate your attempts to protect me. It is an honor, to have such a powerful ally protect me so fiercely."

Juvia blushed, turning away and muttering to herself some more. Lyon smiled, realizing that he was getting more familiar with how to make her happy, at least. She seemed to adore being complemented, which made Lyon question if she had been starved for that sort of affection before. He would ensure she had as many complements as she desired now and would spend as much time as she wanted him to on praising everything he knew about her.

He felt someone grab his shoulder, making him turn to see Gray staring at him with narrowed eyes. He pulled Lyon aside for a moment, just barely out of earshot of the others. "Lyon." He paused, pulling his hand away and looking around. Then, his former rival sighed, shaking his head. "Sorry, never mind. Now's probably not a good time." He glanced back at the tower, frowning. "But…soon. We need to talk about a few things, alright? I have a feeling you're not gonna be happy about it."

Oh, was Gray going to warn him about Juvia's beloved? Likely, it was quite obvious how infatuated he was to those around him. "I think I know what you wish to speak to me about." Gray frowned and Lyon nodded at Juvia. "I am aware of the…situation. I will not let that stop me from showing her my respect and kindness, for she is someone who deserves that sort of attention."

"Are you insane?" Gray stared at him, his eyes wide. "If you know about that…"

Was her beloved powerful then? Well, Lyon was strong too. He'd handle a jealous lover easily, if it meant he could remain near Juvia's heartwarming smile. "Perhaps I am. Yet, I've never met anyone as wonderful as she is."

Gray watched him again, before slowly shaking his head. "Alright. As long as you know what you're getting into, I'll stay out of it." Lyon nodded, relieved that he at least had one person's support. Well, technically he had Gray's lack of interference, which was close enough for him. "As a warning though…if I start to think this thing is turning into some sort of unhealthy relationship between you, I will force you out, Lyon. I won't just let my friend get involved with someone like that if she's not going to show you some level of respect."

Lyon would never start an affair, but Gray did have a point. If Juvia lied to him and he didn't notice it, perhaps he easily could become nothing more than her lover, while her true beloved remained close to her heart. "You'd keep an eye on her like that on my behalf?"

"Sure." Gray watched him, smirking slightly. "Seems like you're pretty crazy about her, Lyon, which was why I was worried so much. But, hey, if you care about her and plan on actually doing something to stop her and turn this into something normal, or at least real, then I won't stop you. She's a strange girl and I don't get what you see in her, but like I said, it's not my business." He glanced at Lyon, tilting his head slightly. "I'd like to say we can still be friends at this point and this is probably our first step to that. Just let me know if you need any help handling her, alright? She seems like she's gonna be a handful."

Sighing, Lyon nodded, staring at her in the distance. She was frowning over at them, her eyes narrowing at Gray for some odd reason. Yet, he ignored that, instead thinking of how she'd look when she was smiling at him again for another complement in the future. "Yes, but she's suffered so much. I want to help her smile, to be happy like she deserves."

"Good luck." Gray patted his back, before moving back to the others. Lyon slowly followed, taking a deep breath and shaking his head free of his optimistic thoughts. For now, they were friends. She'd be working with them in the future which gave him plenty of time to advance things further, in a healthy manner like Gray suggested. Perhaps Gray was being kind to her lover and keeping his identity hidden, but he at least had Gray's assistance in other matters involving winning Juvia's heart. He would do his best to win her affections on his own, however. Lyon had no need for Gray's involvement at all, despite his earlier thoughts on the matter.

When they returned, Lyon could see Zeref smiling in the distance, looking at Gray with raised eyebrows. Their silent conversations were happening more frequently as time went on, it seemed. Gray didn't even notice, based on the way he acted as if it was completely normal. However, the other ice wizard did look like he wanted to laugh at something, so he supposed the conversation was harmless.

"After some discussion, we have decided that the other individual likely does not concern us." Erza glanced over at Lyon. "While you two were away, it became obvious that their concern lies with the tower, regardless of what this key was they were mentioning. Our focus lies on Zeref's curse, which means we have no reason to linger."

"Plus, there is the additional possibility that this stranger got caught up in my…outburst from earlier." Zeref turned away, frowning slightly as his eyes focused on the tower. "The floors do not have that much distance between them; if they'd been on the one below me, or the one above me, they likely would have gotten caught in the spell."

"Well, we didn't see any dead bodies, so if they are gone, they were on the floor above you." Lucy watched as Zeref nodded, agreeing with her assessment.

"Likely, that means they are alive." Lyon glanced at the tower, before sighing. "However, you are correct that it does not concern us. We should be leaving and hoping for answers on Galuna Island once more."

With that, they began to board their ship. Lyon saw Zeref come on last, hesitating before taking the last step on board. "I recommend…stepping further away still." Lyon frowned, but did as asked. "For me, the radius of the curse's outburst is approximately twelve feet. It lasts for approximately fifteen seconds to an hour, depending on exactly what triggered it release. Understanding these things might allow you to behave in a way that will protect yourselves in some form, at least."

"Curse?" Juvia glanced around at the group. "Juvia does not know of this curse."

"Ask the others. I've explained it too many times to them already." Zeref waved her off, moving towards the front of the ship to start sailing it away. This time, there was no question of checking a map to confirm their destination, which seemed strangely trusting considering what had happened before. Lyon began explaining their task and Zeref's curse to Juvia as they set off for the island once more. However, in the distance near the tower, he saw the other boat disembark as well. It was small and he could have been imagining it, but Lyon was almost certain the smaller boat was following them as they traveled, leaving him wondering if whoever it was really had been connected to their task in some form after all.

The ruins Leanne had mentioned to Invel and August were in an area typically avoided in Ilora. Snow crunched under Invel's boots as he approached them, finding an odd irony in the fact that he was now breaking one of the less explained laws of the government here. Trespassing on any abandoned city was illegal; the royal family feared any potential risk of someone locating and piecing together information on magic or weapons from ancient relics. Rather than being too obvious by banning entry to specific ruins, the law had been given general wording so they could enforce it over any region they saw fit.

Likely, whatever manuscript that job had requested might actually be somewhere in the ruins as a result. The royal family technically could search the area but their hubris often left them focused on their current skills. Confident in their wintery magic, they failed to see any potential contributions from history and did little research into the fallen civilizations that resided within the borders of their empire. Invel was relatively confident that there were some pre-teens that knew Ilora's history better than the royal family as a result.

The icy city was as promised. Every building stood tall and pristine, untouched by time unlike most ruins due to everything being made of ice. Buildings held rather simple patterns that were copied around town - he assumed one of the smaller structures was for residents, with the few unique structures representing governments, religious sites, or similar entities. Pausing, Invel studied the area with a frown. "It must have taken quite some time to construct this place."

"Perhaps." August was frowning, studying each building carefully. "This entire town is odd."

"In what sense?"

"In the sense that it is akin to the curse you're researching." The elderly wizard's magical aura grew more apparent as he inhaled slowly. "It unnerves me. Unless these are handmade structures, I should still be able to see something in them."

As if to test his words, August held out a hand. A fireball grew, its heat intense and warming the air even where Invel stood. The wizard threw it at one of the buildings. It crashed with a loud smack, amplified by the silence of the area around them. Rather than creating a hole in the ice and blasting through, the fireball halted entirely, sliding down the wall and onto the ground. There, the snow began to smother it, putting out the flames gradually and leaving just smoke in the air.

Looking at the undamaged building, Invel narrowed his eyes. "Clearly, some form of magic is involved." He turned his senses outwards, attempting to analyze the structures. At a glance, he'd assumed it was a large-scale variation on maker magic. He'd been uninterested in analyzing the spells as a result. Yet, even his senses were muddled. "This place is too old. The magical energies are too faint for me to decipher any details."

"But age should not impede my magic."

"Are you certain? Perhaps there eventually is a limit to even your senses." Invel looked around them. "All magic has limits and while your limits are quite difficult to reach, I would not say it is impossible that this place was created before his majesty was even born."

The elderly man slowly nodded and they continued walking in silence. August's magic was not calming, creating a weight in the air around them as they examined the place. Invel kept his eyes on the buildings, searching for one that could have been the place the others entered. It took a few more minutes of wandering to locate one, a structure with icy columns built into its structure to provide decoration. Carved into the walls were patterns of snowflakes blowing in the wind, with the building itself being one of the largest in the city.

Entering the place, Invel took a moment for his eyes to adjust leaving the light. The room was dim and he found himself bumping into something as he stumbled along. August created an orb of light over his palm, illuminating the room and revealing braziers lining the walls, waiting to be lit. After a moment, August discarded his light spell in favor of lighting the braziers to give the area a dim light as well as some degree of warmth.

After passing through a short hallway, Invel could see the faint shadows in a large, open space in front of them. Already aware of what he'd see, he waited for August to light the remaining area before standing in front of one of the frozen figures. "Are they the same?"

The elderly man nodded, placing his hand against the frozen creation. "Nothing. Just like this entire place."

His theory from earlier made Invel hesitate, seeing the frozen woman's eyes stare at him. "August, I did suggest earlier that perhaps time does eventually place a limit on your ability." The man frowned but nodded. "I'm starting to wonder if perhaps your limitation on analyzing these is the same."

"These people are still alive." August shook his head. "I've been perfectly capable of analyzing spells created nearly a century ago for his majesty. If that were the case here, age would have claimed their lives."

Still, he'd been studying enough of iced shell to gain an understanding that at least that particular variation combined with other branches of magic. Iced shell was the result of ice magic and transformation magic combined as one. "I think we need to bring Dimaria into the matter." August raised his eyebrows at Invel. "Perhaps we've been looking at this incorrectly from the start, assuming this was some entrapment-based ice spell. If it is too weak for me to analyze and you are incapable of studying it, there may be an element of time magic involved."

"If that is the case then we cannot even say if this threat still exists."

Invel shook his head at August. "Actually, I'd say we can guarantee this wizard still exists, if someone has found the key to such a magic." He turned towards the elderly man warily. "His majesty is cursed with immortality for surpassing the barrier of death. Can you not say that this ice spell does the same, if it offers a form of eternal life?"

"You think we are looking for another with his curse."

"I'm simply offering it as a possibility." Invel sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Regardless, I don't think we will be able to store this many in Vistarion. Leaving them here for the time being may be for the best." He turned towards August. "I'm going to see if I can find anything of interest in the area. Perhaps there is some clue as to how they ended up in this state." With that, Invel began to walk off. If someone else truly had gained his majesty's curse, things would be far more complex. His majesty's personal project may turn into a vital answer they'd need to defend their empire from this threat that was doing an excellent job at covering their tracks and hiding away their frozen creations from sight.